Department for Business and Trade

Post Office: Subsidies

Lord Sikka: To ask His Majesty's Government how much they have given to the Post Office in subsidies in each of the years since 2000.

Lord Offord of Garvel: The Postal Services Act 2011 established Post Office Limited as a company independent of Royal Mail Group. The following table sets out the subsidies awarded by Government to Post Office Limited since the 2011/12 Financial Year. The funding covers annual network subsidy payments, investment funding and from 2021/22 funding for Horizon compensation payments.  Financial YearTotal (£m)2011/121802012/134102013/144152014/153302015/162802016/172202017/181402018/192282019/20922020/21502021/22233 (of which £52m was a commercial loan)2022/23137

Recovery Loan Scheme

Lord Kamall: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Johnson of Lainston on 1 February (HL1695), what assessment they have made of the impact of not renewing theRecovery Loan Scheme on small businessesin deprived areas who have previously been turned down for loans by high street banks.

Lord Kamall: To ask His Majesty's Government, further tothe Written Answer byLord Johnson of Lainston on 1 February (HL1695), what assessment they have made of the impact of not renewing theRecovery Loan Scheme on small businessesin deprived areas who have received loans from Community Development Financial Institutionsafter being turned down for loans from high street banks.

Lord Offord of Garvel: Lenders are currently offering over £100 million of additional lending per month through the British Business Bank’s Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS), with 85 per cent of facilities going to small and micro businesses. RLS is particularly effective at serving alternative and social lenders, with more than three quarters of lending delivered through smaller lenders, including Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI). Since launch, RLS has enabled almost £50 million of CDFI lending: over 90% of the businesses which borrowed from CDFIs in 2023 had been turned down by another lender, and half were based in the UK’s most disadvantaged areas.

Electric Vehicles: Import Duties

Baroness Randerson: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have takento establish the UK position regarding tariffs on Chinese electric vehicle imports; whether they will adopt similar tariffs to the EU; and what is their impact assessment of the effect of increased tariffs on the UK automotive industry.

Lord Johnson of Lainston: My officials continue to liaise closely with industry to understand any future impact of an EU tariff and will continue to monitor developments closely. Industry have been advised that they may apply to the Trade Remedies Authority to investigate the potential need for an anti-dumping or anti-subsidy trade remedy measure.

Horizon IT System

Lord Sikka: To ask His Majesty's Government when they first became aware of the prosecutions being brought against sub-postmasters for alleged deficits arising from deficiencies in the Horizon software system.

Lord Offord of Garvel: This is a matter for the statutory Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry. It would be wrong to prejudice its work. 983 Post Office-related convictions have been identified during the relevant period. Not all of these will be directly related to the Horizon system.

Insolvency

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government, following reports that corporate insolvencies rose to their highest level in 30 years last year, what steps they are taking to assist companies that are struggling.

Lord Offord of Garvel: The Government delivered nearly £27 billion of Business Grant Support during the pandemic and continues to support UK small businesses via a substantial business rates package worth £4.3 billion over the next 5 years. The Energy Bill Relief Scheme protects eligible businesses from excessively high energy bills over winter periods. The British Business Bank supports 12.4bn of finance through targeted interventions such as The Recovery Loan Scheme and Pay as You Grow for businesses under the Bounce Back Loan Scheme, offering repayment options where required. Additional SME support is available via GOV.UK, the Business Support Helpline and local Growth Hubs.

Department of Health and Social Care

Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma: Medical Treatments

Baroness Randerson: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the recommendations of the APPG Report Brain Tumours–Pathway to a Cure, and in particular recommendation 6 with reference to paediatric cancer diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma.

Lord Markham: The Department welcomed the All-Party Parliamentary Group report and will continue to work through its recommendations with the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology, UK Research and Innovation, the Medical Research Council, and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).With regards to recommendation six, the NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including childhood brain tumours and paediatric diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma. The usual practice of the NIHR is not to ring-fence funds for specific disease areas, as research proposals in all areas compete for the funding available. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality. In all disease areas, the amount of NIHR funding depends on the volume and quality of scientific activity.We rely on researchers to submit high-quality research proposals. Given the relatively small brain tumour clinical research community, we have been taking action to grow the field. The NIHR is working closely with the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission in hosting customised workshops for researchers, and training for clinicians, to grow capacity for brain cancer research, attract new researchers, develop the community, and support researchers to submit high-quality research funding proposals.The NIHR is committed to the involvement, engagement and participation of children and young people in research, supporting researchers and funders, as well as empowering children and young people to lead their own journey with research.The NIHR, together with the United Kingdom health departments, the Little Princess Trust and Cancer Research UK, jointly fund Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres (ECMCs) to support the most promising innovations into the cancer medicines of tomorrow. For 2023 to 2028, the NIHR is providing £21.6 million in funding for the ECMCs in England, the ECMC Paediatric Network, and the Network Programme Office. Additionally, the NIHR Clinical Research Network cancer portfolio has a dedicated children and young people’s cancer subspecialty, which has a subspecialty lead who promotes and supports research within their local National Health Service trusts.The Department has also now set up the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce to progress our mission to deliver world-leading cancer services. This dedicated work focusing on cancers affecting children and young people will explore research and innovation, which may include targeting research funding, reviewing children’s access to clinical trials, gaining greater access to data, and informing future therapies and treatments.

Health Services: Waiting Lists

Lord Sikka: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Markham on 31 January (HL1876),stating that “If a patient dies whilst on an elective waiting list, the corresponding patient pathway should be removed from the list and recorded appropriately”,how many corresponding patient pathways entries have been removed from the records after the death of a patient.

Lord Markham: The data requested is recorded, however it is not reviewed routinely or centrally and is therefore subject to less validation than official statistics. Issues regarding the quality and completeness of this data mean it is not at an adequate level to inform a response.

Alcoholism and Drugs: Rehabilitation

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to investigate claims made in the Observer on 4 February that the Narconon rehabilitation centre offers a rehabilitation programme linked to the Church of Scientology and that some former patients have suffered extreme reactions as a result of the programme.

Lord Markham: We are aware of the recent claims in the Observer, raising concerning reports about the Narconon rehabilitation centre. Narconon is a private treatment provider, which has declared its regulated activity as dormant with the care quality commission (CQC). If an organisation was found to have failed to notify that they were undertaking a regulated activity, CQC would take regulatory action as necessary. We are in active discussion with the CQC about the regulation of this centre and appropriate next steps.

Alcoholism and Drugs: Rehabilitation

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Care Quality Commission has assessed, or plans to assess, the Narconon drug rehabilitation programme to ensure that it is safe for patients.

Lord Markham: Narconon is registered and regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), for the regulated activity of accommodation with personal care. The CQC do not regulate the drug rehabilitation programme provided or judge its effectiveness.Narconon is a private treatment provider, which has declared its regulated activity as dormant with the CQC. The rating for this provider has been suspended while the CQC gather information to determine any next steps. If a provider is found to have failed to notify the CQC that they were undertaking a regulated activity, the CQC would take regulatory action as necessary.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Lord Strathcarron: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the answer byLord Evans of Rainowon 11 January (HL Deb col 98), what assessment they have made of whether it is appropriate to describe COVID-19 vaccinations as “very safe” given that the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency's Blue Guide, says that "advertising which states or implies that a product is 'safe' is unacceptable"; and whether they intend to publish the evidence base that supports the claim that the COVID-19 vaccinations are “very safe.”

Lord Markham: All vaccines used in the United Kingdom must be authorised by the UK’s independent medicines’ regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Each COVID-19 vaccine is only authorised once it has met robust standards of effectiveness, safety, and quality. As with all vaccines and medicines, the safety of COVID-19 vaccines is continuously monitored, and the advice from the MHRA remains that the benefits of vaccination in preventing COVID-19 and serious complications associated with COVID-19 outweigh any currently known side effects in the majority of patients. Information on the characteristics of each vaccine is published by the MHRA on the GOV.UK website. The MHRA’s Blue Guide relates to the advertising and promotion of medicinal products, and in general, debates in Parliament about vaccination are considered to be outside its scope.

Department for Work and Pensions

Welfare Assistance Schemes

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask His Majesty's Government how many English local authorities do not run a local welfare assistance scheme, and what assessment they have made of the impact on low-income residents in these local authority areas if the household support fund is not extended beyond this April.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: Local Authorities in England have the flexibility and power to use the funding they receive from the annual Local Government Finance Settlement. We do not have robust data on the number of Local Authorities providing a local welfare scheme. The Government is putting significant additional support in place for those on the lowest incomes from April. Subject to Parliamentary approval, working age benefits will rise by 6.7% while the Basic and New State Pensions will be uprated by 8.5% in line with earnings, as part of the ‘triple lock”. To further support low-income households with increasing rent costs, the government will raise Local Housing Allowance rates to the 30th percentile of local market rents, benefitting 1.6m low-income households by on average £800 a year in 24/25. Additionally, the Government will increase the National Living Wage for workers aged 21 years and over by 9.8% to £11.44 representing an increase of over £1,800 to the gross annual earnings of a full-time worker on the National Living Wage. The current Household Support Fund runs until the end of March 2024, and the government continues to keep all its existing programmes under review in the usual way.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Bees: Conservation

Baroness Kennedy of Cradley: To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to support the bee population.

Lord Benyon: Recovering nature is a priority for this Government, which is why we have set legally binding targets to halt and then reverse the decline in species abundance, reduce the risk of species extinction and restore or create more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitats. Action under the Environmental Improvement Plan to deliver our biodiversity targets will address key pressures impacting pollinators including habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation, use of some pesticides, climate change and land use intensification. Our 2014 National Pollinator Strategy sets out a 10-year plan to help pollinators survive and thrive. It delivers action across four themes: strengthening evidence; restoring habitats and species; sustaining pollinator health; and engaging wider society. A Defra-led working group is considering future priorities for pollinators beyond 2024. Agri-environment schemes are a key mechanism for recovering bees and other pollinators, in particular through the ‘Wild Pollinator and Farm Wildlife Package’. Between 2014 and 2019, an estimated 30,000ha of bee-friendly habitat was delivered through this scheme. We have also collaborated with research institutes and volunteer organisations to set up the Pollinator Monitoring and Research Partnership to improve our understanding of pollinators and pollination services, and raised the profile of pollinators through our annual Bees’ Needs Week, which raises awareness of key actions we can all take to protect pollinators. Bees’ Needs Week 2024 will run from 8-14 July. Defra supports the honey bee population specifically through the work of the National Bee Unit inspectorate, which operates our bee pest surveillance programmes and provides free training and advice to beekeepers, including on pest and disease recognition. While bee health is a devolved matter, Defra and the Welsh Government work together on bee health and, in 2020, we jointly published the Healthy Bees Plan 2030 (copy attached).Healthy Bees Plan 2030 (pdf, 283.3KB)

Department for Education

Schools: Medical Equipment

Lord Storey: To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration has been given to making it compulsory to have EpiPens in all schools.

Baroness Barran: In 2014, the government introduced a new duty on schools to support pupils with all medical conditions and published the ‘Supporting pupils at school with medical conditions’ statutory guidance for schools and others. This guidance does not specify which medical conditions should be supported in schools. Instead, the guidance focuses on how to meet the needs of each individual child and how their medical condition impacts on school life.Schools also have duties under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments to their practices, procedures and policies to ensure that they are not putting those with certain long-term health problems at a substantial disadvantage.Under the Medical and Healthcare Regulatory Agency Human Medicines (Amendment) Regulations 2017, all schools are able to buy adrenaline auto-injector (AAI) devices without a prescription, for emergency use in children who are at risk of anaphylaxis, but their own device is not available or not working. The Department for Health and Social care published guidance on using an emergency AAI in schools which can be found in the attached document. HL2350_Adrenaline_auto_injectors_in_schools (pdf, 438.3KB)

STEM Subjects: Girls

Baroness Garden of Frognal: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address the confidence gap between girls and boys studying STEM subjects at school.

Baroness Barran: The department supports a range of work to improve the uptake and attainment in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects to give everyone, regardless of their background or where they live, the opportunity to pursue an education and career in STEM. To support this, the department has committed substantial funding to programmes designed to help facilitate this. As part of the department’s significant investment in the National Centre for Computing Education (NCCE), the ‘I Belong’ programme is available to secondary schools. Focused on Key Stage 3, ‘I Belong’ aims to improve schools’ awareness of the barriers to girls’ engagement with computing and it is designed to support them to improve the take up of computer science qualifications within their school. This is in addition to the wider work of the NCCE to improve the quality of the teaching of computing across all key stages, through the provision of free teaching resources and high-quality continuing professional development. The department also funds the Isaac Physics programme, an online platform of GCSE and A level physics materials developed by Cambridge University designed to increase the numbers of students, particularly from typically underrepresented backgrounds, studying physics in higher education. Additionally, Maths Hubs deliver the department's Teaching for Mastery programme, which is bringing teaching practice from high performing East Asian jurisdictions to primary and secondary schools across England. The programme aims to reach 75% of primary schools and 65% of secondary schools by 2025. Mastery teaching is characterised by whole-class teaching, where all pupils are given equal access to the curriculum and they are encouraged with the belief that by working hard they can succeed. The Advanced Mathematics Support Programme (AMSP) provides support for all teachers and students in England as well as additional, targeted support in areas of low social mobility so that, whatever their location, background or gender, students can choose their best post-16 mathematics pathway and access high-quality teaching. The AMSP has a particular focus on supporting girls into mathematics and runs a variety of enrichment and engagement sessions specifically for girls. The department also supports the STEM Ambassadors programme which is a nationwide network of 30,000 registered volunteers from over 7,000 STEM and related employers. Last year, STEM Ambassadors spent 250,000 hours in primary and secondary schools across the UK raising awareness of the diverse range of STEM careers and enabling young people to explore and develop their skills and interest in STEM. Approximately 48% of Ambassadors are women and 17% are from minority ethnic backgrounds, providing young people with a variety of role models.

Cabinet Office

Lobbying: Registration

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have considered taking steps to reduce the single tiered registration fee to the Office of the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists for small consultant lobbyists or businesses working with charities below the level levied on larger companies working with profit making organisations; and, if not, why.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Government believes it is right that registrants contribute to the costs of administering the lobbying register and we continue to keep the registration fee level under review. There are currently no plans to introduce a banded fee structure. We look forward to the findings of the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee on the operation of the Lobbying Act 2014 and will respond in due course.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

Artificial Intelligence: Disinformation

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to update the lawwithsafeguards to prevent the creation and distribution online of manipulated and faked images.

Viscount Camrose: The Government recognises the challenges that digitally manipulated media and faked images can pose and the Government’s legislative response has been designed to tackle the most egregious forms of this content. This content will fall in scope of the Online Safety Act where it constitutes illegal content, including illegal misinformation or disinformation, or content which is harmful to children. Where companies become aware of illegal content in scope of the Act, they will need to take steps to remove it. For example, the False Communications Offence, which commenced on 31 January 2024, captures manipulated and faked images where the sender of such content is aware it is untrue and intends to cause non-trivial psychological or physical harm to the recipient. The Foreign Interference Offence has also been added as a priority offence in the Act, forcing companies to remove a wide range of state-sponsored disinformation, including manipulated media and faked images. The Online Safety Act has also introduced new intimate image abuse offences, which commenced on 31 January. These now mean it is illegal to share without consent or threaten to share intimate images, including AI created or manipulated intimate images.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Diplomatic Service: Training

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to put in place mandatory training for diplomats on Freedom of Religion and Belief.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: In July 2021, the Prime Minister's Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion and Belief (FoRB), Fiona Bruce, MP, and I, launched the FCDO International Academy's training module "Religion for International Engagement," delivering recommendation 11 of the Bishop of Truro's review of FCDO support for persecuted Christians. The training is essential for FCDO diplomats, and highly recommended for all FCDO staff. The training is also available to all civil servants.

Developing Countries: Genito-urinary Medicine

Baroness Northover: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to achieve universal access tosexual and reproductive health and rights as per Sustainable Development Goal target 5.6.

Lord Benyon: The White Paper on International Development reaffirmed the UK's commitment to deploy policy and investment to advance and strongly defend universal access to comprehensive Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) in line with Sustainable Development Goal target 5.6.The UK Government is committed to driving progress and demonstrating leadership on SRHR globally as a major donor, through our diplomatic network and in collaboration with partners. For example, the UNFPA Supplies Partnership averted 8 million unintended pregnancies, 2.2 million unsafe abortion and 170,000 maternal and child deaths in 2022, with the UK as their largest donor. The Women's Integrated Sexual Health (WISH) Programme supported 9.5 million women to use modern methods of contraception and averted over 45,000 maternal deaths, 5 million unsafe abortions and over 16 million unintended pregnancies from the programme's inception to 2021. In May 2023, the UK joined other G7 leaders in re-asserting the critical role of comprehensive SRHR in our efforts to achieve gender equality, explicitly recognising the need for access to safe and legal abortion as well as post abortion care.

Home Office

Radicalism

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sharpe of Epsom on 23 January (HL1524), under what circumstances (1) a human rights, social justice, or environmental activist, and (2) an individual expressing socialist views, crosses the threshold for Prevent referrals as ‘left wing extremist’; and whether such an individual needs to be planning, involved in or threatening acts of violence in order to be so considered.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: Frontline professionals, when deciding whether to make a referral, should consider whether they believe the person they are concerned about may be on a pathway that could lead to terrorism. In determining whether a concern meets the threshold for referral to Prevent, it is important to consider the harm posed to the person, as well as whether accessing support through Prevent might stop potential wider societal harm committed by the person. A risk-based approach should always be followed, using professional judgement and curiosity. There is no single model of a person’s radicalisation journey or single profile of a radicalised person. There may be times when the precise ideological driver is not clear. Yet, like any safeguarding mechanism, it is far better to receive referrals which turn out not to be of concern than for someone who genuinely needs support to be missed.